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High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 13-Apr-2022 | 3:08PM · 31 Replies ·

So Windows version 21H2, this is the first time I've had to uninstall a Norton product in years. It's really sad I ended up identifying it was Norton by running windows performance log / tool kit... 

Took me about 4 hours to finally just admit there was nothing I could do settings wise. It's definitely Norton related.. It's spiking CPU and heavy disk usage for no reason causing the hour glass to pop up every 1 - 2 seconds. 

Please patch it.

Labels: Tasks & Scheduling
Accepted Solution
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 10:22AM · Permalink

Thank you for posting on the Norton Community. We really appreciate the feedback. And we apologise for the inconvenience caused. We have fixed this issue. Please let us know should this issue recur. Thank you once again.
View Accepted Solution in Context

Replies

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 13-Apr-2022 | 3:41PM · Permalink

On W10 21H2 a recent Norton Update is causing increased CPU utilization (bouncing from 3 - 18% with average ~6%) which, in turn, is causing mouse cursor icon to flash blue circle icon every 3-4 seconds. This is not caused by 2022-04 CU KB5012599 as uninstalling it does not resolve the issue.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 13-Apr-2022 | 3:44PM · Permalink

HAHA, Yeah we know, now if Norton could please do something about it. How did this last update pass QA? Some of us use our machines and service machines with several flavors of anti virus and security software.. 

It's real hilarious because after about 30-45 minutes of usage any ding bat novice could see there's an issue! 

Come on Norton. Losing the faith. 

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 4:17AM · Permalink

Hey guys check out my thread i posted about this here in this forum! Go read it! 

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 9:36AM · Permalink

Same exact problem.. except I have to add "Already LOST the faith" since the Lifelock merger... My Wife and I just removed our automatic subscription.This CONSTANT "Norton Fail" with bugs and CONSTANT NORTON SPAM over the last few years wastes a LOT more of our time than it saves.  Decided to just delete this hot mess when I get a few spare minutes, and then carve out the persistent "Norton Stay Behinds" from the System Registry piece by piece.

My candle burns at both ends, It will not last the night. But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, It gives a lovely light! -Edna St Vincent Millay
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 2:41PM · Permalink

I just clicked on "Show Hidden Items" on my Window's Bottom Right Tool bar, then Right clicked on the Norton icon there, then chose "Turn on Silent Mode" (Duration: 1 Day).  That (Supposedly) stops Norton's background processes.. Either way, it stopped that "flashing blue circle icon every 3-4 seconds" thing.

It may only be a temporary fix until Norton gets this current mess fixed, but it worked on all of our computers here.

My candle burns at both ends, It will not last the night. But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, It gives a lovely light! -Edna St Vincent Millay
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 2:55PM · Permalink

Unfortunately the silent mode trick didn't work for me.  Opening/closing (sometimes after running 'get support') still works for a bit for me.  But as soon as a background task is triggered it goes right back to spinning/CPU.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 3:40PM · Permalink

Silent mode didn’t work for me either, but was worth a shot. What did work for me was to change the mouse pointer icon for “working in background” to the same as the normal icon. Not a fix, but at least stops the annoying blue circle popping up every 2 seconds.
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 4:36PM · Permalink

I just rebooted and replicated what I did before that worked: Bottom Right Toolbar, Click "View hidden items", Right click on the Norton Icon, Turn on Silent mode (Duration: 1 Day), disable Auto-protect, disable firewall. Left click on the Norton icon to open the Norton program, it'll say "FIX NOW", click that and allow it to turn auto-protect and Firewall back on, close it out. Done.    Tested it on my wife's Desktop machine, and my Surface Laptop and it worked on those also.  It's a temporary fix, but it worked.. Hope this helps.

My candle burns at both ends, It will not last the night. But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, It gives a lovely light! -Edna St Vincent Millay
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 14-Apr-2022 | 7:39PM · Permalink

See if you guys can replicate this.

What I found

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 7:58AM · Permalink

This does not work it starts up again, the whole thing needs a new patch.

Norton please resolve, thanks.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 8:21AM · Permalink

I tried Silent mode and it did not work.  I have five computers running, and within a day saw the same problem on all of them.  I you look at the resource monitor there are 10 files running from Norton moving about 6MB/sec.  I contacted customer service last night thinking I may have a virus.  I let them take control of one of my computer so they could see the problem.  After a half hour they told me it was normal.  My computers with SSDs well have shortened life plus slowing them down. I've started removing Norton from my computers and will use Windows virus protection at the moment.

Accepted Solution
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 10:22AM · Permalink

Thank you for posting on the Norton Community. We really appreciate the feedback. And we apologise for the inconvenience caused. We have fixed this issue. Please let us know should this issue recur. Thank you once again.
Gayathri R | Norton Forums Global Community Administrator | NortonLifeLock
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 12:22PM · Permalink

I mentioned on another thread ... I'm seeing no changes in my issues and I've run Live Update several times.  How is this supposed to be fixed?

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 1:09PM · Permalink

@Brocktoon, could you try a complete reboot? This is not a patch(LiveUpdate) but a behavior scenario interacting with our backend systems.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 1:30PM · Permalink

I've shut down and rebooted several times and also restarted several times.  This is with fast startup disabled.  No change and still seeing the same issues.  I just checked with a family member who lives near me and they have seen no improvement with their Norton either.  If it has to do with the communication on the back end,  could there still be issues depending on the servers we're connecting to?  I'm located in the northeast US

No problems with my internet service and I'm connecting to the live update servers without issue and even ran 'get support' which found no issues.  I don't stay signed in on my Norton software but that should be an issue, as I was never signed in when the problem started.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 2:51PM · Permalink

The problem has been solved on my computers, but it took about 2 hours for the update to come through.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 3:09PM · Permalink

Was the update via 'LiveUpdate'? Did you have to submit logs to NORTON first before you could get this update?

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 3:22PM · Permalink

I can confirm that Norton is no longer misbehaving on my PC since receiving Gaythari_R's notice today that it had been fixed.  Upon receiving the notice, i ran live update and then rebooted my PC. 

Maybe unrelated, but following the reboot, I noticed that Chrome's software_reporter_tool.exe began loading several instances in task manager - each with excessive CPU usage (+10%) - similar to what I had been seeing with Norton.  I uninstalled/reinstalled Chrome and checked for updates.  The countless instances of software_reporter_tool.exe returned.  I then tracked down the location of software_reporter_tool.exe on my PC and renamed it to "software_reporter_tool.exe.old".  Upon restarting Chrome, software_reporter_tool.exe was back in task manager, but only 1 maybe 2 instances, and only ran for a few seconds and disappeared.  I rechecked the location of software_reporter_tool.exe and found that the .old version was gone and had been replaced by a new copy of software_reporter_tool.exe.

Another thing, back when Norton started misbehaving (since 4/9 after doing a live update), I noticed logging into my PC (user password screen) was taking much longer following a reboot.  What was normally instantaneous was now taking 20-30 sec just to recognize me typing my password.  I also noticed on one occasion since 4/9 that Samsung Magician faulted during startup after a reboot.  Today after taking care of Chrome, I uninstalled Samsung Magician and then rebooted my PC.  Logging back in was instantaneous again.  I then reinstalled Samsung Magician.  I did a follow up reboot and found logging in remained back to normal.

So, after all of that, my PC finally seems to be back to normal.  I'll add that my OS is Win7 SP1 (64-bit) and running Norton 360 version 22.22.3.9.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 3:41PM · Permalink

The update I did was manual Live Update within Norton. The version you need is 22.22.3.9 to work correctly.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 3:45PM · Permalink

I had just started scanning my PC to create the requested logs when I received the notice of the fix.  I canceled the scan and then ran LiveUpdate followed by a reboot.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 4:00PM · Permalink

@Matt_Boucher, I certainly would not call into question your expertise, as you presumably have direct knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes, but please forgive me for being a bit perplexed by your comment. The fix did indeed work for me, and I'm very happy about that. However, there were a couple of observations about the behavior of the bug that lead me to assume that it was fixed by a LiveUpdate. Firstly, around 8:00 Pacific Time this morning I booted up my laptop without plugging in my USB modem, therefore it wasn't connected to the internet, and nevertheless Norton 360 was still doing its recurring process-spawning. I then turned off the laptop and put it away. A couple hours later I booted up the laptop again, this time with an internet connection because I had the modem plugged in. The Norton bug was still spawning its processes every 2 seconds. I manually ran a LiveUpdate, and then rebooted the laptop. It was only then that the bug had stopped. This all seems inconsistent with the notion that it was a behavior scenario interacting with your backend systems. Perhaps the behaviors that I was observing were just a 'red herring'. Can you set me straight? I'm only bringing this up out of curiosity.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 15-Apr-2022 | 4:12PM · Permalink

I have given in a performed a remove and reinstall via the Norton RnR tool.  I've performed all live updates and currently running 22.22.3.9.  So far everything is OK after ~ an hour.  We'll see how everything shakes out over the next 24 hrs.  What's odd is that my new installation no longer has the Software Updater.  How long til that re installs ... and will the CPU issues return at the same time?

If it's a back end issue, so far it looks I also needed a reinstall which means there's more going on than just a communication issue.  BUT, let's see how everything sorts out after the next day or so.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 16-Apr-2022 | 4:24AM · Permalink

My problem is fixed! I have not had it since you said its fixed!  Ill be back if it comes back

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 16-Apr-2022 | 5:17AM · Permalink

Patches via LiveUpdate are software packages downloaded and installed on your system (sometimes requiring a reboot). There are also several areas/services of the product that connect with backend services and are configured as such. Those configurations/parameters had a mistake and may be updated during a LiveUpdate, reboot, or on their own based on an internal notification. Also, a reinstall will get the latest configurations. We are looking at ways to ensure we have stricter guardrails set up to never run into this situation again. Again thank you all for your patience.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 16-Apr-2022 | 1:28PM · Permalink

While the CPU usage is now rather tame, it's still writing like crazy to the ncpDynam.dat file--around 36 MB/s, plus another 4 MB/s to ncpDynam.dat.log.

I rebooted and it was fine for a bit, but an hour later it's back.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 16-Apr-2022 | 3:40PM · Permalink

I couldn't stand it any longer as nothing changed at all for me since the 'fix' was announced yesterday (4/16). Whatever was supposed to come down the pipe or connect in the background was not happening for me - so this afternoon I did a complete uninstall (remove all user data) from Control Panel followed by running Norton Remove and Reinstall tool followed by a total fresh reinstall of 360.  I'm now sitting at version 22.22.2.10 and no CPU spiking/process respawn & terminate quickly any longer...so pleased right now.  I know this isn't at the most recent 360 version (the one released earlier this month), but I'll leave it as is for the present.  Whenever it decides to upgrade to latest, maybe by then it will have the so-called fix/patch in place.  Also too, my Norton installation has been intact since 2013, so I figure a clean sweep wouldn't hurt as it has gone thru all these product upgrades over this time and accumulated tons of stuff.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed going forward. I'll just let this be as is and keep close tabs on it. Will post updates as warranted.  Have a good holiday.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 17-Apr-2022 | 8:03AM · Permalink

Thank you Matt for the explanation and workarounds.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 17-Apr-2022 | 11:13AM · Permalink

I also did a full remove/reinstall and that worked. Of course, since that downrev'ed the version, not sure if the fix will persist once it updates again, but we will see.

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 18-Apr-2022 | 5:20AM · Permalink

My OS/PC Info :

My everyday PC :

Desktop built w/Asus MB:
CPU Intel Core i5 650  2 Threads 4 Core
RAM : 16 Meg
HDD's : 'C' 1 Tb "Spinner" (not SSD) with 147 Gb in use
1 Tb HDD for some larger non-OS items
OS : Win 7 OEM 64 Bit SP1 (SHA-2)
N360 Ver : 22.22.3.9 - Installed during routine Live Update Deployment ~1:30am 04-16-22

Laptop : Backup PC, mostly in Standby (Sleep) Mode
Toshiba/Win 7 OEM SP1 pre-installed
N360 Ver : 22.22.2.10

During this time, the Laptop PC has been running good, no issues noticed.

Here's what I've noticed on my Desktop PC since the N360 22.22.3.9 deployment :

Unlike other posts I've read, I haven't seen CPU/Busy issues.  My CPU Graph shows normal usage.

My OS HDD constantly driving / Drive LED on all the time
N360 Dashboard very slow opening - getting the "Not responding / Wait for response or close app" Dialog Box.  It does open in ~2-3 minutes but all options very sluggish responding.

Most other apps slow with longer than usual "hourglass" occurring.

I restarted the PC & all appeared fixed but the next morning after awakwening PC from overnight Sleep Mode, all symptoms reappeared.

After awakening PC from overnight Sleep this morning 04-18-22 ~5am, all was working normally again.  Perhaps a fix was deployed overnight as my PC's awaken nightly at 1:30am to run a File Backup script at which time N360 runs a nightly Live Update & does a scheduled (1:45am) Custom Quick Scan.

As of this post, all's well with an uncertainty if a Fix was deployed overnight.

I'm fairly certain that all of the issues are/were Ver 22.22.3.9 related as none of the issues were present prior to this version update.

Windows 7x64 Home Premium OEM Ver / MoBo: ASUS P7P55D-E / CPU: Intel i5-650 / RAM: 16 Gb Corsair DDR3
Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 20-Apr-2022 | 11:04AM · Permalink

Just curious of those here that performed a total uninstall of NORTON 360, reinstalled to version 22.22.2.10 and returned soon thereafter to most recent version 22.22.3.9 - did anyone at all ever see a re-occurrence of the CPU spike/3rd task spawning/log file writing since then in any way-shape-form?  I have disabled AUTOMATIC UPDATES for the time being so I can continue working uninterrupted until I can get to a drive image backup of this configuration with v22.22.2.10 and then will resume download of updates.  Since there hasn't been any recent activity on this thread, then I'm taking it that 'no news is good news'…problem has been resolved at everyone’s satisfaction?

Kudos0

Re: High CPU Usage. Cursor is flashing hour glass every 2-3 seconds. Very experienced with this program. This started since windows updates /app updates 4/12/22

Posted: 20-Apr-2022 | 1:56PM · Permalink

I didn't do an uninstall/reinstall of Norton v22.22.3.9, but I can tell you that Norton ceased misbehaving for me following a system reboot after receiving notice on Fri 4/15 that the problem had been resolved.  I've checked task manager everyday since and have yet to see anything out of the ordinary.  Additionally, my cursor has ceased changing to the "working in background" pointer every 2-3 seconds, which is what had initially alerted me that something was up.   

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